Lahoud: Israel wants to destroy Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The president of Lebanon, in an interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper, said that Israel wanted to destroy his country because they are commercial rivals.

"The Israelis themselves said that they want to take Lebanon 20 years back," Emile Lahoud told the daily Al Anbaa. "Lebanon is Israel's chief rival in the field of finance, culture and tourism. And that is why we can see that whenever Lebanon bounces back and begins to make progress, Israel attacks it."

Lahoud also said that he believed Israel had tried to foment a civil war between Hezbollah and other Lebanese, without success.

Lahoud claimed that the war was a failure from Israel's point of view.

"It failed in trying to write off Lebanon's strongest card, meaning the legitimate resistance against the occupation and aggression," he said. "Israel also failed in its attempts to occupy land and dictate its terms to Lebanon."

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today’s UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.

A Spanish version of the site reaches millions of readers in Latin America and beyond.

UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when after a merger with the International News Service in 1958, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Today, UPI is owned by News World Communications.